| Antinous Mondragone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Year | c. 130-138 AD. |
| Type | White marble |
| Dimensions | 95 cm (37 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
The Antinous Mondragone is a 0.95-metre (3 ft 1 in) high marble example of the Mondragone type of the deified Antinous. This colossal head was made sometime in the period between 130 AD to 138 AD and then is believed to have been rediscovered in the early 18th century, near the ruined Roman city, Tusculum.[1][2] After its rediscovery, it was housed at the Villa Mondragone as a part of the Borghese collection, and in 1807, it was sold to Napoleon Bonaparte; it is now housed in the Louvre in Paris, France.[2]
This acrolithic sculpture was produced during the rule of Emperor Hadrian, who ruled from 117 AD until he died in 138 AD. It is widely accepted that Hadrian had kept Antinous as his lover and that they had a sexual relationship. However, this relationship did not accumulate much documentation, so a great deal of the details are left unknown. As a result of this, there are now many theories surrounding the subject of their relationship as well as the controversial death of Antinous in 130 AD.[1]
This sculpture was produced as one of many pieces of art made within the cult of Antinous, a cult that is accepted to have formed out of the grief Hadrian harnessed over the death of Antinous.[1] Out of the three distinct types of Antinous cult statues, this piece falls under the Mondragone type, which can be identified by the unique hairstyle that works as a reference to the Greek god Dionysus.[3]
- ^ a b c Antinous, the lover of Emperor Hadrian, drowned in the Nile that year. Can be read about in: Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 128–142.
- ^ a b Ehrlich, Tracy L. (2002). Landscape and Identity in Early Modern Rome: Villa Culture at Frascati in the Borghese Era. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 185. ISBN 0-521-59257-7.
- ^ Vout, Caroline (2005). "Antinous, Archaeology and History". The Journal of Roman Studies. 95: 80–96. doi:10.3815/000000005784016342. JSTOR 20066818. S2CID 162186547 – via JSTOR.